Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class

First Test: 2008 Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series

Off the grid: So well qualified, even an F1 car can't pass it

What if you could buy a car capable of running in front of Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, and the rest of the Formula 1 boys on any Grand Prix circuit in the world? Why, just think of the giddy satisfaction you'd feel gazing into your rearview mirror and seeing those champagne-fueled yacht jocks choking on your exhaust fumes, their once-sanitary Ferraris and McLarens now befouled by your impudent rubber dust.

Well then, sir or madam, here's your ride: the limited-edition, alphanumerically extravagant Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series-a super coupe expressly designed for running at the front of the pack. Granted, if you actually attempted to drive this new AMG model on a race circuit currently occupied by 22 screaming F1 machines, you'd be instantly vaporized by a gamma ray from Bernie Ecclestone's motor coach. But the Black Series is eminently qualified to be there. For all intents and purposes, it's a civilian, street-legal version of the same Mercedes-supplied Formula 1 safety car that appears whenever lots of yellow flags start waving or any time Ralf Schumacher says, "Watch me, Dad!"Compared with the "standard" CLK63 AMG coupe (not sold in the U.S.; we get the Cabriolet version only), the Black Series is nearly 100 pounds lighter, more potent, more monster-er. For one thing, there's enough featherweight, beautifully sculptured carbon fiber inside and out to make about 1000 of those chic executive ashtrays (the rear diffuser is particularly yummy).Other upgrades include a retuned suspension with adjustable coil springs and ride height (you'll need to break out your wrench, though), a wider track front and rear, 19-inch forged-alloy AMG wheels wearing Pirelli performance tires, thicker composite front brake discs, strut tower braces under the hood and in the trunk, and a multiplate rear limited-slip. Notice, too, the carbon-fiber air outlets in the front wheel arches, the left for an additional transmission-oil cooler and the right ducting the engine-oil cooler.As in all AMG products, the engine is handbuilt by one man from start to finish (AMG sold roughly 20,000 cars last year-apparently, this guy never sleeps). The 6.2-liter V-8 (no, it's not a 6.3-but Mercedes gets huffy when we call the car a "CLK62") is upgraded for Black Series duty with newly enlarged intake ducts, reprogrammed software, and a low-restriction sport exhaust. The result is 25 additional horsepower, a heady 500 horses at 7000 rpm. Torque climbs 13 pound-feet, to 478 at 5200 rpm. As in the standard car, the transmission is an AMG-optimized version of Mercedes's fine seven-speed automatic. Aluminum shift paddles behind the wheel and three transmission modes-including full manual-allow as much or as little gear-changing involvement as you like.The Black Series cockpit is an intimate space. In fact, if you've been off the South Beach diet for a few weeks, you may not enjoy the accommodations. The deeply bolstered sport seats fit like a wetsuit, and the C-Class cabin doesn't have an ounce of airy flab (the Black Series doesn't even have a back seat to help carry those extra helpings of Fourth of July potato salad; AMG jettisoned the small buckets to shave pounds). Ahead of you sits a superb leather steering wheel with "F1-style" flat bottom. To your right is a stubby aluminum shifter that works so well you wonder why any car needs a Louisville Slugger jutting up between the seats. Judging by the reckless expanses of pricey carbon fiber draped across the dash and console, the designers are the sorts of people who feed Osetra caviar to their cats.On the road, the Black Series reminds you of its track-optimized mission with a ride that's as taut as an upper-octave piano string. Thanks in part to its ultra-stiff chassis, though, impacts are well absorbed and the driving experience is never brutal. The speed-sensitive power steering, modified for Black Series action, has a pleasing heft and feels more communicative than what we've experienced in other AMG models recently. Turn-in is sharper than the typical AMG model, too-though at 3911 pounds, the Black Series is hardly a slim sports racer.On a twisting mountain road, this very special CLK63 romps with gobs of grip, extravagant power, and brakes that never die. The stability-control system performs well in civilian mode, stepping in to stifle grand swings of the tail that would get you into trouble (or jail) on a public road. That big, naturally aspirated V-8 has the no-windup brawn of an Olympic shot-putter, churning out roughly 80 percent of its max torque as low as 2000 rpm yet spinning fiercely from there to its 7200-rpm redline. Feel the force, Luke: We recorded a 0-to-60-mph time of just 4.2 seconds and a quarter-mile of 12.6 seconds at 112.6 mph. Like other AMG models, the Black Series has had its electronic reins loosened; the speed limiter doesn't cut in until 186 mph.Out in its true element-in this case the Streets of Willow race circuit-the Black Series runs wild. The paddle shifters work brilliantly, clicking off light-switch upshifts or downshifts, yet the transmission is nearly as good simply left in Drive (it seems intuitively to know what you want it to do). As good as the stability control is on the road, on the track it feels heavy-handed, cutting in hard just when you're trying to cancel some understeer with a dab of throttle. Switch the system off and the car feels better balanced, showing what the sport suspension and grippy Pirellis can really do (short answer: a lot). The Black Series is simply explosive out of corners, the V-8's might enhanced by a final-drive ratio shortened by about six percent. In every direction, this wicked CLK hurls g forces like Mariano Rivera pelting you with fastballs. At the end of a hard drive, your neck will feel like cooked pasta.The CLK63 AMG Black Series goes on sale stateside about the time you're reading this. Pricing hasn't been announced as we go to press, but Mercedes says the sticker will check in around $135,000. Lofty? Yes. An impediment to purchase? Hardly. Most of the 350 or so cars coming to the U.S. this year are already claimed.If you're one of those very lucky few, do yourself a favor and get a new plasma TV to go with your AMG. Prop up the screen where the rear seat used to be, then pop in a good Formula 1 DVD. At least that way it'll look like a bunch of F1 cars are running in your wake. Otherwise, what you're likely to see in the rearview mirror keeping up with your Black Series is...nothing.When $135k isn't enoughAMG has been in existence for four decades now. It's about time we all celebrate, yes? Let's cut loose in a nice, comfy two-door with more rampaging horsepower than 30 Kentucky Derbys.The new car is called the CL65 AMG, the third AMG model to flaunt the division's awesome twin-turbo, 6.0-liter V-12. With 604 horses on tap, this raffish coupe moves almost as if weightless, the big 12 smooth and unstressed, the five-speed automatic slicing through huge hunks of torque (738 pound-feet total) almost without detection. Or press down hard on the right pedal and watch the view out the windshield become a surrealist painting.You glide on 20-inch twin-spoke forged AMG wheels and Active Body Control; you stop (but why would you?) via brakes sporting twin-sliding front calipers (for high performance with cooler brake-fluid temperatures). Inside, you bask in a cabin with standard hard-disc navigation, poplar-wood inlays, and sumptuous Nappa leather. Make your CL65 AMG extra-special and get one of the 40 examples with "40th Anniversary" Alubeam paint. Your car will shimmer like the liquid-metal T-1000 Terminator.When? The CL65 AMG is on sale now. How much? About $185,000 (make that $200K if you want to scare Ah-nold). Why send the kids to college? Exactly.

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